The crusted ground crunched under the heavy footfalls. The armored woman with the Nebula symbol on her hand glanced over at her Wayfinder; a mako shark floating through the air next to her, made of sparkling starlight. "Map," the Aspirant’s gravelly, partially mechanized voice rumbled out. Female, but she could be mistaken for an automaton given the level of distortion in the tones emanating from her helmet.
"Right," the shark growled out. Unmistakably male. There was a flash of starlight and then a three-dimensional planet appeared. "They are on the other side of the world. It will take 12 days to arrive at their last reported location."
The armored woman nodded and revved the engine on her General Logistics hypercycle. The powerful machine belched out toxic fumes from its exhaust and rocketed off across the landscape. The woman held a large hammer in her left hand, letting it dangle behind her as she traveled.
"Incoming predator animal," the mako shark stated. "Nine o’clock. On an intercept course."
The woman turned and saw the creature approaching. A chitin-covered shape like a wolf. Lifting the hammer, she willed her Skill to activate, and it crackled with shimmering ice spikes. The wolf kept charging at an intercept course, and she brought the hammer across its face, killing it with a single blow as the head was fully knocked off, and ice spread along the body. Within seconds the form shattered into pieces.
Her Wayfinder immediately converted the corpse to Stardust as the two sped off over the blasted land towards their prey. Someone who had taken a job from General Logistics and had the key to the future of cybernetic advancement and integration on Earth.
A courier with valuable cargo. Flicker. Jace Seren. Dead man walking. She grinned with sadistic delight under the helmet as the miles passed by.
Jace cautiously walked down the corridors. The boots softened his footfalls that would have otherwise been quite noisy due to the makeshift prosthetics. He held the sword slightly in front of him at an upward angle and had the flechette pistol at the ready. Ollie floated in front of him, acting as an advance scout and peering around corners.
He had to sheath the weapon and pocket the pistol several times as he went through partially flooded corridors, wending his way through the single tunnel. How far does this go on? I’ve been going for a good twenty minutes. "Ollie, pull up the map."
"Yup." Ollie paused and his paws sparkled with starlight as the map of the world appeared. He zoomed in and even though they could only see the location relative to the surface, Jace could tell from the topography that they had gone past the edge of the crater. Ollie pointed at one of the zoomed in sections, at the far end of the Vyrknadine ’kill ten’ Quest area that was marked off. "It looks like there was a building there at one point. I bet that these tunnels lead there."
"What do you think the purpose of the tunnel was?" Jace asked as he resumed his journey into the darkness.
Ollie assumed his lead position, "Well, the crater is where the weird magitech hive mind for the nanites was located. This might have been a way to feed it power?"
Jace scanned the walls, floor, and ground. "I don’t see any sign of those copper-like wires that we saw in that hidden post."
"Neither do I," Ollie muttered. He stopped in the air at a turn and held up his paw in a small, closed fist. "Stay quiet."
Jace crept forward and peered around the corner with meticulous caution. There was an open chamber - an enormous square room that was full of weird, arcane symbols and the same brass-colored wires. And arc reactors. All of them deactivated. Glancing down, Jace saw that there was some type of ’cut’ where the brass-colored lines that had led down the corridor to the crater once lay.
They were removed. "Someone took away the hive mind’s power source," Ollie commented. "Before making that crater. I bet that was the final effort after the magitech nanites found another way to power their control point."
Jace nodded and snuck into the room. Ollie ascended to his maximum tether height. The cavernous space slightly echoed with Jace’s footfalls. He could hear his faint breathing coming back to meet him. He passed the rest of the way through the area before entering another square tunnel that turned into a staircase ascending upward.
And he heard a soft growling noise. Far off above him, but it was rhythmic. Three distinct types of breath - different pitches, almost creating a small harmony with each other - sucking air in and out. Careful. Even quieter. Jace went as slow as he could, calling up all his ability to sneak around - just like he had done with gang territory dozens of times before.
After an agonizingly long climb, with his heartbeat racing faster and faster as he grew closer to the noise, he came to a torn-off door. All that remained was a frame and torn-away metal. The frame was bent inward as well - as if something tried to push its way down the passage but could not fit.
Beyond the door he saw a sight that made him freeze in place. An enormous Vyrknadine - as large as a semi-truck - was inside this large space, shredded metal storage shelves were scattered around and used to make an uncomfortable bed in the corner of the room that it lay upon. Its tail was tipped with an enormous cluster of chitin that made it appear mace-like, and that was coiled around the three pairs of legs as it slumbered.
More shocking was that it had three heads. Just like a band logo Jace had seen before. He could not remember the name of it. Ollie spoke at a normal volume. "The Cosmogenic Merging glitching out...it merged three Vyrknadine together." He looked back to Jace with a slight smile, but there was a tone of worry that tinged the words. "Two Quests with one kill. This counts as three of them."
Jace mouthed the word ’how,’ and Ollie shrugged. "It has the same weak spots as a regular Vyrknadine. So, get in under it and stab up at the heart."
The creature stirred and Jace froze. He looked up at Ollie and put a finger to his lips. The thing is technically part of The Cosmic System...so it could hear Ollie talking. It’s an Aspirant, just a corrupt one.
The otter clapped his paws over his mouth and nodded.
Well, it’s asleep. I need to sneak in close and try to kill it before it wakes up. Looking it over, and taking in the size, Jace also knew that if he got behind it - he could use his grapnel to latch onto its back should it wake up. That size, it can’t easily bend around and reach for something small holding on.
Jace could not help his trembling arms despite trying to command them to still. Fear was coursing through him. This creature was enormous. It could eat him in one bite. The tail could do some major damage as well, not to speak of the clawed feet. Is this too much? I can always go back. There’s no harm in that.
[Stardust Acquired: 2000.]
<<<<<>>>>>
[Quest Completed: Slay 10 Vyrknadine.]
[Current Progress: 10/10.]
[Time Limit: N/A.]
[Reward: Legendary (Skill Evolution) Boon.]
[Sender: Dark Between Stars.]
<<<<<>>>>>
[Quest Completed: Clear the magitech nanite Complex.]
[Time Limit: 6 hours.]
[Reward: Legendary (Equipment) Boon.]
[Sender: The Cosmic System.]
<<<<<>>>>>
Ollie flew overhead and smiled, "Well, you have gotten a Legendary (Equipment) and (Skill Evolution) Boon. Plus, a bunch of Stardust to use."
Jace chuckled. "Just...let me rest for a few minutes." He glanced sideways and scanned the room for his scattershot pistol. He saw the crushed remains, slightly sparking, off to the side near this creature’s nest. Damnit. That was useful.
Just to confirm it was destroyed, he pulled up his status screen.
<<<<<>>>>>
Name: Jace Seren (Aspirant, Tier 1)
Power [Class Level.]: Dark Matter [Swordmage 7.]
Skills: Skill Name (Rank) [Evolutions.]: Universal Translation, Environmental Adaptation, Dark Matter Blade (Rank 3), Dark Matter Shield (Rank 3), Swordmage Stance (Rank 3)
Stardust: 2115
Equipment: Swordmage blade, Swordmage starting gear, Wirecannon Arm, Runner’s Replacement (1/2) (damaged), messenger bag, sliverscreen, survival knife, survival meals (x46), canteen (x2), medical kit, orange tarp (damaged), flint bar, flashlight
Boons: Legendary (Skill Evolution), Legendary (Equipment)
<<<<<>>>>>
Damnit. He looked down at his smooth stump where there once was a makeshift prosthetic. "At least we have that Boon to use. Can it get me a pair of feet?"
"Even better!" Ollie shouted. "A pair of legs."
Jace smirked. Guess I’m getting magitech legs then. He looked down at the still-holding on singular Runner’s Replacement foot, hanging on by straps and rails. And I suppose I can sell you.